"Another sort of white bird, flocks of which flew about the bay, is very singular, having the base of the bill covered with a horny crust.[129] It is larger than a pigeon, with the bill black and the feet white, made like those of a curlew. Some of our people put it in competition with the duck as food." [Footnote 129: The sheath-bill. See Pennant's Genera of Birds, p. 43.] "The seine was hauled once, but we found only a few fish about the size of a small haddock, though quite different from any we knew. The snout is lengthened, the head armed with some strong spines, the rays of the back-fin long, and very strong, the belly is large, and the body without scales. The only shell-fish are a few limpets and muscles; and amongst the stones a few small star-fish and sea-anemonies were found." "The hills are of a moderate height; yet many of their tops were covered with snow at this time, though answering to our June. Some of them have large quantities of stones, irregularly heaped together at their root, or on their sides. The sides of others, which form steep cliffs toward the sea, are rent from the top downward, and seem ready to fall off, having stones of a considerable size lying in the fissures. Some were of opinion that frost might be the cause of these fissures, which I shall not dispute; but how others of the appearances could be effected, but by earthquakes, or some such severe shocks, I cannot say." "It appears that rain must be almost constant here, not only from the marks of large torrents having rushed down, but from the disposition of the country, which, even on the hills, is almost an entire bog or swamp, the ground sinking at every step." "The rocks, or foundations of the hills, are composed chiefly of a dark blue, and very hard, stone; intermixed with small particles of glimmer or quartz. This seems to be one of the most universal productions of nature, as it constitutes whole mountains in Sweden, in Scotland, at the Canary Islands, the Cape of Good Hope, and at this place. Another brownish brittle stone forms here some considerable rocks; and one which is blacker, and found in detached pieces, incloses bits of coarse quartz. A red, a dull yellow, and a purplish sand-stone, are also found in small pieces; and pretty large lumps of semi-transparent quartz, disposed irregularly in polyedral pyramidal crystals of long shining fibres. Some small pieces of the common sort are met with in the brooks, made round by attrition; but none hard enough to resist a file. Nor were any of the other stones acted on by aquafortis, or attracted by the magnet." "Nothing, that had the least appearance of an ore or metal, was seen." SECTION VI.